Auburn University's Food Systems Institute has created a multimedia e-book that brings together a wide range of information about the upcoming holiday, such as its history to food preparation and safety.

"What makes it so unique is when people think of e-books they think of PDFs and that is not what we did. We took it a step further and said hey, we are pulling videos inside of the book, we're putting links in there so you can go back to the places we got the information from. So its truly a fun interactive book," explains AU Food Systems Institute IT Director, Troy Hahn.

The e-book presents information including chapters on food safety and planning for the feast, as well as tips on using and storing leftovers.

"We have the charts that tell you how to keep things in the refrigerator, how to keep leftovers and what to throw out, how long to keep it on the counter, if you've had it out longer than two to four hours then we recommend you throw it away," says AU Poultry Science Professor and food safety expert, Dr. Jean Weese.

Weese says people should take proactive steps to protect themselves from exposure to diseases like Salmonella.

The e-book suggests several ways to reduce the risk, starting with clean surfaces and adequate heating of raw products.

"The biggest issues is cross contamination. Just be careful that you take raw meat and keep it separated from food that you're not going to cook like salads," explains Weese.

The e-book has been online for about a week and has had over 4,000 downloads.

The team's plan is to expand the site to cover all holidays throughout the year.

"The idea is to start doing a lot of the holidays such as Easter. There is a lot of overlap of the Easter foods and the Christmas foods that people use, so that is what we are thinking, let the website, the e-book, keep evolving."

The e-book is available at your smartphone or tablet's app store by typing in "Auburn University Thanksgiving."

It can also be found on the Food System Institute's Thanksgiving website at www.aufsi.auburn.edu/thanksgiving, which will be updated with new content right up until Thanksgiving Day.

Two vehicles caught fire after a house fire in Ensley. (Source: Greg Long/WBRC)

Birmingham firefighters are working three different fires in Ensley. They were called to a house fire on Bush Boulevard around 3:30 a.m. Monday. Fire officials say that fire happened in the living room and everyone got out safely.

Birmingham firefighters are working three different fires in Ensley. They were called to a house fire on Bush Boulevard around 3:30 a.m. Monday. Fire officials say that fire happened in the living room and everyone got out safely.